Saints bench Jake Haener, back to Spencer Rattler

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints didn’t have much patience with quarterback Jake Haener after a poor offensive performance in the first half of a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders.

Haener, who started as a replacement for the injured Derek Carr, was substituted after one half in favor of freshman Spencer Rattler. The Saints managed just 38 net yards of offense in the first half, their worst halftime performance since 2002. Haener completed just 4 of 10 passes for 49 yards, threw one interception and was sacked three times early in his career.

Rattler came into the game to celebrate in the second half as Haener stood on the sideline wearing a baseball cap. Rattler needed six plays to establish a passing play and found wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling downfield for a 39-yard gain.

This led to a touchdown pass on the next play when Rattler threw the ball back to wide receiver Cedric Wilson Jr., who then hit Alvin Kamara for a 21-yard touchdown, the Saints’ first score of the game.

Rattler, who finished the game with 135 passing yards and a touchdown, started three games earlier in the season when Carr suffered an oblique strain and completed 59.6% of his passes for 571 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions before Sunday. He was sacked 14 times in those three starts. Carr is sidelined with an injury to his non-throwing hand.